Proposed constitution for CORE
A working copy of the proposed constitution for CORE is printed below; it may also be viewed on the CORE website, www.concernedohio.org. Discussion on its contents is open until September 14, 2006, when a ratification vote will be held at the CORE meeting that day (details coming later). Please plan to attend and participate in this vitally important meeting. It's YOUR future! KBB
Working copy approved for consideration
CONSTITUTION
Concerned
We, the members of the Concerned Ohio Retired Educators, hereinafter identified as CORE, in order to develop a well defined and effective organization do hereby establish this Constitution.
Article I - Name
The name of the organization will be Concerned Ohio Retired Educators, henceforth referred to as CORE.
Article II - Mission Statement
CORE is a (C4) non-profit corporation whose mission is to advocate for the preservation of retirement benefits, including health care, to all
Goals:
To monitor the compliance of the STRS Board and staff with ORC 3307.15.
To support Board members who "discharge their duties with respect to the funds solely in the interest of the participants and beneficiaries."
To advocate for the security of adequate retirement benefits.
To advocate for a dedicated stream of funding for the Health Care Stabilization Fund in order to guarantee health care for all STRS members, spouses, and dependents.
To monitor inappropriate spending of STRS funds by the STRS Board and/or any STRS employee.
To establish a fair and equitable balance of active and retired members to serve on the STRS board.
To research and collect information about STRS, legislation, and other related matters, and to report and distribute this information to
Article III - Membership
Participation in CORE is open to all
Article IV - Governance
1. CORE will be governed by an Advisory Board of a minimum of seven members. It shall be the duty of the CORE Advisory Board to receive input from the CORE membership, establish policies that reflect the ideas and attitudes of the membership, direct the actions of all CORE officers, and approve all documents or communiqués that represent official CORE publications.
a. Nominations for selection as a CORE Advisory Board member may be made by anyone listed as a CORE member and meeting all requirements of active membership as set forth in Article III of this document.
b. Selection of a CORE Advisory Board member to complete the remainder of the term shall occur within thirty days of a vacancy on the Board.
c. In the event of a vacancy on the CORE Advisory Board, selection of a replacement shall be determined by a two-thirds (66%) vote of the existing CORE Advisory Board.
d. Removal of a CORE advisor shall follow the procedure outlined in Article VIII of this document.
2. CORE shall elect a President who shall preside at all meetings. The President shall carry out the directives of the CORE Advisory Board and be the official spokesperson for CORE.
a. The President will maintain the power to appoint all committee chairpersons, shall present all motions to the body, and shall be present at 90% of the CORE meetings.
3. CORE shall elect a Vice President.
a. The Vice President's duties shall be to preside at all meetings and functions that the President cannot attend and remain current on all CORE business.
b. The Vice President shall act as parliamentarian in charge of all rule observances at stated meetings, protocol, etc.
4. CORE shall elect a Secretary.
a. The Secretary shall keep the official minutes of all CORE meetings and regularly report them to the membership.
5. CORE shall elect a Treasurer.
a. The Treasurer shall handle all dues, maintain and regularly report on the status of all accounts, and keep an accurate roll of all CORE members.
Article V - Operations
1. Voting Eligibility
a. Those members meeting all requirements of active membership as set forth in Article III and in attendance at any meeting where a vote is taken, will be granted voting privileges.
2. Election Process
a. Elections shall be held at the CORE Annual Membership Meeting in September of each year.
b. All officers shall be elected by a majority vote of the eligible voting members of CORE in attendance at the CORE meeting designated as an election meeting.
c. All persons must give consent for their names to be placed in nomination and attest to their willingness to serve if elected.
d. The President will take nominations from the floor, the nomination process must be closed and the movement seconded. The nominated parties will be allowed to vote.
e. All voting shall be done by secret ballot to be collected and tabulated by the Secretary and one voting member of CORE to be selected by the CORE Advisory Board.
f. The election results shall be reported to the CORE membership by the Secretary within forty-eight hours of the election.
3. Term of Office
a. The term of office shall be for a period of no longer than two years.
b. All officers may succeed themselves if so elected by the membership.
4. Meetings
a. All meetings will occur at a time and place to be designated by the CORE Advisory Board and will follow the general procedure set forth below:
i. Attendance ii. Report by the President iii. Committee Reports iv. Vote on all Committee motions/decisions v. Any other Business vi. Dismissal by the President
b. There shall be a minimum of four (4) meetings per year.
c. The CORE Annual Membership Meeting shall be held in September of each year.
d. Committee Chairs may call meetings of their committee as needed.
Article VI - Finances
CORE will finance the activities it engages in by the following means:
1. Contributions
2. Special projects or events organized by the CORE Advisory Board.
Article VII - Amending the Constitution
This constitution is binding to all members of CORE. But the constitution is not binding unto itself.
1. Amendments to the constitution must be proposed in writing to the CORE Advisory Board. Any voting member of CORE may propose an amendment.
2. These amendments will be placed on the agenda for the next regular meeting of CORE and notification of the consideration of the amendment will be sent to members via the CORE E-mail Alert system.
3. Voting to ratify the proposed amendment shall take place at the second regular meeting after it has been presented to the CORE Advisory Board.
4. Proposed amendments will become effective following approval of two-thirds (66%) vote of all eligible voting members in attendance at the ratification meeting.
Article VIII - Removal of Officers
Any officer of CORE in violation of CORE's purpose or constitution may be removed from office by the following process:
1. A written request by at least five members of CORE.
2. Written notification to the officer of the request, asking the officer to be present at the next meeting and prepared to speak.
3. A two-thirds (66%) majority vote of the eligible voting members in attendance at the meeting is necessary to remove the officer.
Article IX - Adoption and Effective Date
This constitution shall become effective immediately upon adoption.
BYLAWS
Article I - Membership
Section 1: Registration is required for CORE membership.
Section 2: There are no formal fees for CORE membership. Donations are crucial to the support of CORE's mission.
Section 3: Honorary memberships can be bestowed by a majority (51%) vote of the CORE Advisory Board.
Article II - Notification of Meetings
Section 1: It will be the duty of the Secretary to send notices of regular or called meetings to members at least two weeks prior to the date of the meeting.
Article III - E-mail Lists
Section 1: CORE shall maintain a contact list (database) of those who wish to be informed of CORE activities, etc.
a. Access to the CORE database shall be limited to:
i. The author of the database ii. The CORE President iii. The CORE Secretary iv. The CORE Treasurer v. The person designated by a majority vote of the CORE Advisory Board to send official CORE Alerts.
Section 2: CORE shall establish an E-mail Alert System for the purposes of quickly disseminating CORE information.
a. The CORE Advisory Board shall, by a majority vote, designate a CORE member as the person responsible for sending all official CORE E-mail Alerts.
i. Only official releases approved by a majority of the CORE Advisory Board shall be sent via the E-mail Alert System.
ii. CORE ALERT shall be included in the subject line of all official releases.
Section 3: The database shall be maintained by a CORE member designated by a majority vote of the CORE Advisory Board.
Section 4: The Treasurer shall forward, in a timely manner, lists of all new CORE members so that they may be included on the CORE Contact List.
Article IV - CORE Website
Section 1: CORE shall maintain an Internet website.
a. The CORE Advisory Board shall, by a majority vote (51%), designate a CORE member as the person responsible for managing and maintaining the CORE website.
b. Any information posted on the CORE website shall be approved by a majority vote (51%) of the CORE Advisory Board before it is published.
c. The CORE website may be updated as directed by the CORE Advisory Board but shall, at a minimum, be updated quarterly.
d. The cost of maintaining the CORE website shall be paid from the CORE general fund.
Article VI - Amending the Bylaws
1. Amendments to the bylaws must be proposed in writing to the CORE Advisory Board. Any voting member of CORE may propose an amendment.
2. These amendments will be placed on the agenda for the next regular meeting of CORE and notification of the consideration of the amendment will be sent to members via the CORE E-mail Alert system.
3. Voting to ratify the amendment shall take place at the second regular meeting after it has been presented to the CORE Advisory Board.
4. Proposed amendments will become effective following approval of majority (51%) of the vote of all eligible voting members in attendance at the ratification meeting.
posted by Kathie Bracy at 3:24 PM
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